The announcement this week that DotAsia will work with Pool.com on an auction system to introduce its new domain names is a good reaction to problems of the past.

Previous launches worked (sometimes not well) on a first-come, first-served basis. For example, sex.eu had over 280 potential applications but only the first was even considered. Yet, today, nearly 2 years later, the domain application is still being reviewed.

This made it more likely that companies with advanced technological ability were more likely to acquire the domains even as buyers were encouraged to "purchase" queue positions from multiple vendors in hopes of improving their chances without guarantee to even being able to participate in a purchase.

The auction process to be run by Pool.com will still require buyers to be validated against published criteria, but all participants will be treated equally with the "winner" decided based on their own sense of the value of the domain. May the best business plan win!

The process is intended to discourage speculators who would simply warehouse domains for sale at a later date and encourage immediate deployment by users who want a return on the investment.

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Thanks for the note. It certainly might be a good idea to declare your affiliation (Zenogroup, PR consultant / spokesperson for pool.com, as a quick google search shows) more clearly though, in such a post.

One of the problems with .eu and .info was that many applications during Sunrise have not been verified by the agent (PWC) or there was not agent at all (at .info). I was wondering whether the trademarks in .asia Phase 2 will be verified by Deloitte, as mentioned in the press release or not, as mentioned in the .asia sunrise rules:

- Mark must be issued and valid upon domain registration application
- Applicant must have demonstrable usage of Mark (in the class if applicable) registered
- Registrant must be owner, co-owner or assignee of Mark
- Documentary evidence is not mandatorily required, but required upon request

If the provision of evidence for a valid trademark is not required there will be a big incentive for mass domain grabbing. A strategy which was not too bad for cyber cowboys at .eu was to apply with not valid trademarks during the Sunrise, then wait until you were thrown out and catch the domain name some months after the sunrise when it was released one day (which was only known by registrars and insiders).

Thanks for the note. It certainly might be a good idea to declare your affiliation (Zenogroup, PR consultant / spokesperson for pool.com, as a quick google search shows) more clearly though, in such a post.